Fit to Play With Jim Johnson: The Allure of Sports Gambling

I placed my first sports wager while I was in college. I was having my haircut when the barber offered me a betting sheet for the week’s college football games. I sat down, filled it out, handed him $5, and went. The following day, I discovered that I had won easy money. I arrived early the next week, acquired the fresh sheet, and put a larger wager. I lost all of my money. The anguish of losing the money overshadowed the delight of gaining. I never put another wager since I knew I wasn’t as good as I imagined.

That was not the case for Jordan Holt, a 43-year-old line technician from Arizona. One day, his friend contacted him and told him that FanDuel would pay him $50 to bet. Holt resisted, but for a year he was besieged with TV and radio commercials touting the joy of betting. Holt agreed, signed up, and began gently before imagining winning enough for a family holiday. He bet at all hours of the day, chasing his losses with other losses. He took out debts after loans, eventually becoming bankrupt and ending up with a strained marriage. Millions of people, like Jordan, wager in secret, hide, and lose.

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Gambling businesses claim that gambling addiction is not on the rise, and that the greater options presently regulated by states are not a concern. That’s like cigarette corporations convincing us that smoking isn’t harmful and may even be beneficial. I feel sad for all of these folks who are having problems betting and have lost a lot of money. gaming addiction is merely one issue with gaming deregulation.

The Holt story was originally presented by The Athletic, which has a collaboration with BetMGM. However, they are not the only ones involved in a gaming relationship. Like Faust, the NFL and NBA sold their souls. The allure of additional money trumped their prior ethical decision to avoid betting. At the recent PGA Golf Championships, a large billboard stated ESPNBet. Gambling has grown so commonplace that no one appears to realize the hazard. Television networks act as bookmakers, presenting betting odds before and during competition. Will the NCAA join? They don’t seem to do anything but prepare more championships, more teams, and more coffers for their overflowing strongbox.

One major issue with betting is the prop bet. This is a bet in which someone wagers on what a player will do. These are subtle bets that are difficult to enforce. For example, you may wager on how many points or rebounds a certain player will get in a given game. Assume you bet that John Smith would not score 20 points and 10 rebounds in a game. You give John some money and ask him to relax a little. Maybe John leaves with an apparent injury before scoring 20 points. You won. John wins. The game fails.

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